Given the amount of love and coverage I give to the LEGO Legends of Chima toys, you might assume that I’m an avid follower of the LEGO Chima TV series and have watched every episode over and over. That is not the case. In fact, up until this month, I’d seen exactly zero episodes of the LEGO Legends of Chima cartoon. Nothing against the show–I just don’t watch a lot of TV. But Warner Bros. was kind enough to send me a review copy of the LEGO Legends of Chima Season 1 Part 2 DVD set, so I spent four hour this weekend on a LEGO Chima cartoon bender. The Chima DVD set is on sale for 35% off at Amazon for $12.99–is it worth your 13 bucks? Read on…

The Right:

If you had any concerns about the video quality of these LEGO Legends of Chima episodes, just because they’re on DVD, let me put those to rest: the quality on this LEGO Legends of Chima Season 1 Part 2 DVD set is fantastic. The animation looks so gorgeous on this set to begin with, I can’t imagine that putting the episodes onto Blu-Ray instead of DVD would have made much different at all.

One thing I was worried about with this DVD set, however, was whether or not I was going to be able to follow what was going on (seeing as how I skipped the first ten episodes of the series entirely and all that). To my delight, I found that each episode contained a little recap of a few seconds that got me up to speed on the few plot developments I missed in the first half of LEGO Chima Season 1.

And while the recaps didn’t tell me everything, the show is presented in such a straightforward way that it’s easy to catch on to exactly what’s going on, even if you’ve forgotten details or missed episodes entirely (like me!).

The LEGO Legends of Chima TV series primarily focuses on Laval of the Lion Tribe, who bears a striking resemblance to Lion-O from Thundercats. Thankfully, Laval is actually far less immature than Lion-O and a lot more likable. Laval is young and makes mistakes, but he’s well-intentioned and has a strong set of values that make him a solid role model for kids.

And speaking of values: the LEGO Legends of Chima cartoon is totally appropriate for children of all ages, and teaches some of the best morals I’ve ever seen in an action/sci-fi cartoon series. It’s so refreshing to see an animated show that portrays wholly positive relationships between parents and children. Laval is exceedingly respectful and proud of his father, Lavertus, and is actively trying to develop into the kind of capable adult and skilled leader as his father.

Perhaps the best life lessons taught by LEGO Chima Season 1, however, are those that have to do with different cultures and tribe learning to live together and coexist amiably. Despite their differences, the members of this different tries learn to be friends and comrades, teaming up for the good of both themselves and the land of Chima itself. By the end of the season, the eight main Chima tribes must unite for the common good, and it really left me excited to see the LEGO Legends of Chima Season 2 episodes.

In addition, unlike many cartoons, women aren’t marginalized at all in Chima Season 1. Thankfully, the female characters in LEGO Legends of Chima are not relegated to passive sideline roles, waiting for the males to come and save them. The women fight, scheme and pilot just as well as their male counterparts.

The Wrong:

While there are many interesting characters and animal tribes in the world of Chima, the show fails terribly at characterizing some of the Chima tribes.

The Beaver Tribe is obsessed with engineering things and receives only the barest amount of attention in the series. Meanwhile, the Bear Tribe and the Rhino Tribe are both dim-witted underdeveloped. But the tribe that elicits the most groans from me whenever a member comes on-screen is the Gorilla tribe, whose defining characteristic seems to be that they speak only in the “gnarly” tongue of the 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. “Dude!”

A consequence of having such one-note tribes of characters is that much of the humor in LEGO Legends of Chima Season 1 Part 2 falls flat, as a lot of the “jokes” are reliant upon the viewer being amused by how dumb the Rhinos are or just the “rad” surfer dude vernacular of the gorillas. I’m not saying I never laughed during the episodes, but by and large, the humor in this season is more juvenile than I think is necessary.

Overall: Has the LEGO Legends of Chima Season 1 Part 2 DVD set changed my life and redefined what I think of as “great television”? Absolutely not. Have I gained a new appreciation for Legends of Chima? Absolutely. While this cartoon series may not go down in history as one of the greatest ever (at least, not yet), it teaches strong morals, features great animation, and tackles sociocultural topics that I would never expect to see handled so well in a “children’s” cartoon.

LEGO Legends of Chima Season 1 Part 2 has its flaws (like some eye-rollingly awful humor), but it’s a fun and well-done cartoon series that most fans of the LEGO Chima toys will love. At a value price of just $1-$2 per episode, you can’t go wrong giving this series a try. Recommended.

GRADE: B